1. Field
One or more exemplary embodiments relate to an X-ray apparatus and an X-ray imaging method, and more particularly, to an X-ray imaging apparatus and method which may acquire a plurality of image frames by radiating a pulse type X-ray toward an object.
2. Description of the Related Art
An X-ray apparatus is a medical imaging apparatus that acquires images of internal structures of an object by transmitting an X-ray which passes through the human body. The X-ray apparatus may acquire medical images of an object in a shorter amount of time compared to other medical imaging apparatuses, such as a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) apparatus and a computed tomography (CT) apparatus, but the acquired images are not as detailed. Therefore, the X-ray apparatus is widely used in generating simple images of the chest, abdomen, skeleton, nasal sinuses, neck soft tissue, and breast imaging. However, as X-rays are radioactive, X-rays radiated toward the object for X-ray imaging may be harmful to a human body.
As described above, since X-rays are radioactive and are harmful to a human body, an operator needs to minimize the amount of radiation that a patient is exposed to when capturing an image of an object during X-ray imaging.
Also, fluoroscopy imaging is a type of image processing technology for acquiring a continuous X-ray image, much like an X-ray movie, by capturing images of an object in real time for monitoring a medical operation, and flouroscopy may be used for angiography. In detail, an operator may use fluoroscopy in providing X-ray angiography for monitoring a surgical operation.
Since X-ray imaging using fluoroscopy requires a large amount of time, the amount of radiation that a patient is exposed to increases according to an imaging time. Accordingly, the amount of radiation that a patient is exposed to increases based on the number of times that radioactive imaging is performed. Accordingly, for X-ray imaging using fluoroscopy, the amount of radiation that a patient is exposed to needs to be reduced.
Alternatively, in order to provide an accurate diagnosis of a patient, a high quality X-ray image acquired by reducing various errors existing in the image is necessary. For example, for a moving object, a motion artifact may be generated in an X-ray image. Accordingly, an apparatus and method of preventing image degradation due to motion by reducing a motion artifact is provided. In order to increase accuracy of an image, an X-ray of over a predetermine value is radiated toward the object to perform X-ray imaging. Since the amplitude of a signal obtained to capture an X-ray image is proportional to the dose of radiated X-ray toward the object, when the dose of radiated X-ray is reduced, image quality of a captured image of an object may be decreased.
Thus, in performing X-ray imaging or fluoroscopy imaging, an X-ray apparatus and method which are able to acquire a high quality X-ray image while reducing the amount of radiation that the object is exposed to is needed.